This invention relates generally to cassette tape deck players and recorders, and, more particularly, to cleaning devices driven by the tape deck which automatically clean a tape head and tape transport mechanism in the tape deck.
The magnetic tape used in cassette tape cartridges is coated with iron oxides which tend to become dislodged from the tape as the cartridge is used. Loose particles of the coating and other dirt can degrade the performance of the tape deck by accumulating on the tape deck's magnetic heads and also on the deck's capstan and pinch roller. Currently, accumulations can be removed by manually swabbing them off with solvent and an absorbent medium such as cotton.
Cleaning with swabs and solvents is an effective method of removing accumulations, but is time consuming and messy. In tape decks in which the cassette slides into the deck through a narrow slot such as those used in some automobile installations, the heads and transport mechanisms are inaccessible unless the unit is disassembled and, hence, the heads and transport mechanisms in such units are extremely difficult to manually clean.
Prior to this invention, tape heads which were not easily accessible could be cleaned by a cleaning device which utilizes an abrasive band located in a standard cassette. The band is driven by the tape deck's tape transport mechanism and the band removes accumulations from the head as it rubs across the tape head. In a band cleaning device, the cassette is inserted into the tape deck and when the tape deck is activated, the band rubs across the head cleaning the head by abrasive action. The little cleaning of the capstan and pinch roller which does occur in band cleaners results from the direct contact of the band with the roller and capstan rather than sliding movement of the band across them.
The abrasive band is not an entirely satisfactory cleaner and it suffers several disadvantages. When used frequently, its abrasives tend to wear the tape head. Further, the band can clean only that part of the head over which it passes thus it leaves accumulations above and below the edges of its band and also both forward and behind the point where the band contacts the head.
The band is not absorbent and cannot make use of cleaning solvents which are useful in loosening and removing accumulations. Instead the band must rely on being pressed against the tape head by a light pressure of a tape head pad which is designed to hold a playing tape against the tape head not to act as part of a cleaning system.
The band cleaner is extremely poor for cleaning the capstan and pinch roller. No cleaning results because the band does not slide across the capstan and pinch roller.
Consequently, there existed a need for a cleaning apparatus contained in a cassette body which can clean the tape heads and the transport mechanism of the tape deck. A desirable device would use solvent to loosen the dirt and wiping action of a cleaning pad to remove the loosened dirt. The device should be able to clean an area wider than the width of the tape and must be able to effectively clean the capstan and pinch roller.